ROBINSON KUNDA
Lusaka
ZAMBIA have been placed in Pot Two in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON) qualifying series and could be paired with champions Senegal, Morocco, Nigeria, Algeria or South Africa, who are in Pot One.
The draws will be conducted today in Cairo, Egypt.
Chipolopolo will be seeking a third consecutive AfCON qualification, having participated at the 2023 Ivory Coast and 2025 Morocco editions.
At the two tournaments, Zambia, tutored by Israeli Avram Grant, were eliminated in the first round.
Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) head of media and communications Nkweto Tembwe said Chipolopolo are ready for any team.
“For us, we are looking forward to the draws. We didn’t have to wait for the draws, we started preparations a long time ago and that is why we played Argentina and we participated in the four nations’ tournament in Botswana. All those were part of preparations, we just hope for the best,” Tembwe said in an interview yesterday.
George Lwandamina-drilled Zambia lost 5-0 to Lionel Messi-captained Argentina in Buenos Aires on April 1 and finished second behind winners Zimbabwe at Mukuru Four Nations Tournament in Francistown.
Hosts Botswana and Malawi also competed.
According to draws procedure, 48 teams that are eligible to compete in the qualifiers will be divided into 12 groups, with the top two sides in each pool qualifying automatically for the finals.
Co-hosts Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are guaranteed places regardless of their qualification results.
The only teams Zambia are guaranteed of avoiding are those in Pot Two.
These are Cape Verde, Ghana, Guinea-Conakry, Gabon, Uganda, Angola, Benin, Mozambique, Madagascar and Equatorial Guinea.
Zambia’s potential opponents are Morocco, Senegal, Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, South Africa or Burkina Faso Chipolopolo could also be drawn with Kenya, Libya, Tanzania, Niger, Mauritania, Gambia, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Namibia, Togo, Malawi or Rwanda, who are in Pot Three.
Any of the teams in Pot Four, which has Zimbabwe, Guinea Bissau, Congo-Brazzaville, Central African Republic, Liberia, Burundi, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Botswana, South Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia, could be Zambia’s opponent.
The qualifiers will be played over three match windows from September 21 to October 6 and November 9-17 this year and then March 22-30 next year.
Two qualifying matches per team will be played in each window.
The AfCON finals will run from June 10 to July 17, 2027.
The pots:Pot One: Morocco, Senegal, Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, South Africa, Burkina Faso Pot Two: Cape Verde, Ghana, Guinea, Gabon, Uganda, Angola, Benin, Zambia, Mozambique, Madagascar, Equatorial Guinea, Comoros Islands.
Pot Three: Kenya, Libya, Tanzania, Niger, Mauritania, Gambia, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Namibia, Togo, Malawi, RwandaPot Four: Zimbabwe, Guinea-Bissau, CongoBrazzaville, Central African Republic, Liberia, Burundi,
Ethiopia, Lesotho, Botswana, South Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia….https://enews.daily-mail.co.zm/welcome/home
